The present invention relates to a base material for a wiping sheet having powder which is used to wipe an object including the human body, and a wiping sheet comprising the base material having powder supported thereon and/or impregnated with an aqueous medium.
A wiping sheet, such as a wet tissue or a wet wiper, comprises a base sheet, such as woven or nonwoven fabric of rayon or cotton, impregnated with purified water, lotion, an alcohol, etc. and is used as a disposable towel, a facial cleansing sheet, a body wiping sheet for babies or patients, a cleaner for office-automation equipment, a kitchen wiper, and the like. For instance, a good number of wet type personal care goods have been on the market as a wiping sheet for bodies, particularly the face, the neck, hands and feet, etc. These wiping sheets are used for wiping the skin or for giving a refreshment.
Although the conventional wiping goods are effective in wiping the skin, they are liable to remove too much sebum or moisture, which often causes discomfort after use depending on the part of the body. For example, a thorough wipe with a wet tissue given to an armpit sometimes causes skin roughening. While the currently available personal care goods of this type are intended to be applicable to the body, they are not suitable for wiping the whole body everyday, the actual use being confined to the relatively dirty parts, such as hands and feet.
Most of the base materials used in the conventional wiping sheets such as wet tissues and wet wipers are made of cellulosic materials, such as 100% cuprammonium rayon nonwoven, 100% cotton nonwoven, water-needled nonwoven mainly comprising rayon, a wet or dry process pulp sheet, and the like. Since these materials have poor thermal formability due to insusceptibility to heat, they are often supplied as a single ply. Commercially supplied goods include individually packaged sheets, a packet containing 10 to 80 sheets each folded into two or so, and a roll of a perforated continuous sheet. These goods are so simple that they are easy to manufacture, but are not user friendly because they have insufficient thickness for good texture and are easily twisted due to poor nerve (stiffness), which causes discomfort to a user.
Apart from the wet type goods, it is effective to apply powder, such as baby powder, to the wiped skin to keep comfort. Since wiping with a wet tissue followed by powder application is troublesome, a wet tissue having powder thereon is conceivable, with which to wipe the skin and to apply powder simultaneously. In this case, however, the powder would be held in the inside of the base sheet constituting the wet tissue more than on the surface and could not be applied to the skin efficiently, failing to give a sufficient comfort after wiping. Further, where used for wiping an object, a wet tissue having powder is expected to produce surface improving effects attributed to the powder, such as reduction in friction, as well as the cleaning effect. However, the surface improving effects as expected are not obtained for the same reason as in the application to the skin.